Wednesday, October 22, 2008

After the old "Police Call" scanner directories went away to become collectibles, Lindsay Blanton created Radio Reference in a goal to become the next "Police Call". That dream was realized today with the partnership between Lindsay's company and Scanner Master. Scanner Master is handling the release of the new Radio Reference CD-Rom which is to say that you can buy the CD-Rom here

The much anticipated CD-Rom will be the off-line version of the popular Radio Reference site for radio hobbyists. Now, for the first time, internet access is not a need to have all of the crucial information needed for the enjoyment of the radio listening hobby. Scanner Master already gives a nice discount to RR members or those who mention RR during the purchase of certain limited Scanner Master items such as the PSR 500 scanner by GRE which has NAC Code coverage.

12:00AM: 760 AM - News Radio WJR. Detriot, MichiganThese guys run a great program called the "Midnight Radio Network". They're just across the lake from me, so not a huge deal to get them in at around a solid S9.

12:30AM: 640 AM - Talk station competing for the band with a music station. My bet is that it's out of Boston, Mass.

12:40AM: 620 AM - Savage Nation? Program is competing for the band with a country music station. Hard to make any of them out except for the talk host trashing Chinese restaurants. Song playing at 12:43AM is "Wild Angels" Martina McBride maybe?

12:45AM: 700 AM - WLW in Cincinnati, OH. "America's Trucking Network" following the lead of every other station on the air with endless discussions about Obama.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Listening lately to the international broadcast bands & the amateur HF bands has served as a reminder that the bad band conditions resultant from a low solar cycle does not equal zero propagation. As of lately, most of the broadcast stations across the globe on just about any frequency have just been screaming in here at 20 over 9 or better. Just yesterday morning, China Radio International was almost 60 over 9...as far as most meters go on modern rigs.

During the JOTA weekend, VY1JA in the Yukon Territory was screaming in just over S9 or better depending on the time of transmission on 20 Meters. WWV has been a 20 or better, and we won't even talk about RHC or the religious stations, or tin hat conspiracy stations. They are always at least a bit over 20 or about 35 over S9. As this article is in production, listening to 5.070.00 with a conspiracy program focused on Obama, they are between 20 over S9 and 35 Over.

Time to spin the dial, see what else is out here. Harvest Radio on 6.916.00 is 40 to 45 over S9 but I assume them to be local. Mind you, the antenna being used is nothing special. Just a G5RV. Here's something interesting! 7.523.00 brings in a Polish station at almost 20 over S9. 15 over is the true reading for this station. 7.730.00 brings in a German Station also at 15 over S9, swinging to 20 over.

This evening, 75/80 meters and 40 meter SSB is very active with mostly the 4 call stations being heard well. Most readings on these operators are 5 by 9 to 20 over. See, bad band conditions aren't stopping anyone due to the low solar cycle!

For many, rough humor on the Hf Amateur Bands is nothing new. Adult language during the late night hours is often seen as something safe to do. Those who don't want to hear it usually just spin the dial and ignore it.

Is this really a practice we want to encourage? Does ignoring bad practices, even if they're illegal make them any more innocent or any more legal? Some would venture to say it doesn't matter to them and others would say that part 97 says it is totally illegal, period.

More arguments say that the FCC doesn't care one hoot if no one complains and even if there is a complaint filed, the action is slow and inefficient because those breaking the law are usually just given a slap on the wrist.

Let's step back to examine this from the view of an outsider who just may be considering becoming a licensed radio amateur. Everyone has differing sensibilities, and most who want to get involved want to be with folks who are capable of being professional, friendly, outgoing, etc. Long time tradition on the 75/80 Meter Amateur Band has been to whoop it up as if it were 11 meters.

Don't forget that there are people listening and that while you may get away with it for a period of time, that day may come when your fellow radio amateurs will say enough is enough. Would you want your own kids running into some of the topics being discussed with the vehement language & gross descriptions being used on the air? Would you want your family members to hear your on the air hijinks?

Let's all play by the rules. There's e-mail for the more explicit stuff you may wish to engage in. Take it to a private discussion, take it anywhere else, but keep it off the air. Our image needs to be as polished as it can get if we are to keep being taken as a serious group of technical professionals, much less if we want to be taken seriously at all.

So, all these years hearing CW or voice stations sending out letters without anyone to ask about how to identify them has yielded results. NDB stations will likely account for some of the stations wrongfully identified as "Numbers/Letters" stations. NDB stations are Aviation beacons used for non-directional purposes as NDB's are non-directionsl beacons, hence the name NDB.

I heard one again last night and was able to identify it as a station in Texas. This station was heard on 207.00Khz in AM mode with CW. The below post regarding 530AM with CW being heard on the LSB will likely be a NDB.

According to sources, NDB's are not being maintained by the FAA and are therefore vanishing. Too bad, it's really nice to have something interesting to hear. Technology moves forward and with it can sometimes come a loss of a distinct signal on the air. Log em' while you can!

Just two mornings ago while monitoring 530AM CW was actually heard just below the traffic advisory coming from the Lower Sideband. Due to difficulty copying, it's hard to say what the message was. If your state has an AM traffic advisory system, have you heard this as well? Were you actually able to confirm what the CW sent was? A beacon? Some other radio service also on the band? Maybe a station that drifted off frequency?

Country music is never better experienced than when listening to WSM 650AM in Nashville, TN. Long ago, I got a confirmation card from these guys. I've been listening since discovering them. Lately, it seems as if their transmitter keeps shutting down.

As we experienced people know, there could be any number of problems. With a station as old as WSM, a good guess would be transmitter overheat. Anyone have any idea what this problem is? for those of us that listen most often, they seemingly just go away early in the morning just as the sun peeks it's rays into our windows.

We all know that the band has been acting funny as it tends to do in the lowest sunspot cycles, so maybe some sort of atmospheric phenomenon?

Shortwave monitoring is an absolute privilege. To hear each and every country that gets a good signal on the air; to hear all the pirate broadcasters who are truly the bad boys of radio, has been a past time of millions of people the world around.

We all have our own tastes in radio programming. The entire point put fast and simple is: WHY ARE CERTAIN STATIONS ALLOWED AN UNGODLY AMOUNT OF SPECTRUM? I'm referencing all the religious broadcasters, I'm talking about Radio Habana Cuba, I'm Talking about all of those stations that don't need half of an entire band to operate on! The stations named above are just two examples.

Christian broadcasting absolutely has it's place and I am one person who loves the good quality stuff such as Harvest Radio. One wonders how it is that stations get away with hogging spectrum that could be given to other stations. Is the ITU being manipulated by some stations execs? Have corporate interests been given special action to keep the shortwave bands open? Doom sayers have been spreading fear that radio spectrum will be sold off to the next highest bidder for ages and it has only happened in very small percentages. These small percentage of changes in spectrum to include the allocation of small portions of spectrum to other radio services do not rise in reailty to the level of a huge campaign to hog spectrum to make it all look legit.

Free up the spectrum for other stations that could give the bands some life once again!

Research shows that "Numbers Stations" were present as early as WW1. Again, these stations became active during WW2, the cold war, and again in the present day. Among us avid radio listeners, numbers stations have affectionately been given nicknames based on key characteristics of the stations.

Numbers stations have various goals & objectives that include valid military functions, national security intelligence operations, weather, aviation coordinates, radio propagation, etc. Unfortunately, numbers stations aren't always good guys. These stations meant for harm focus on espionage, spy operations, and other bad things. Numbers stations are typically one way transmissions made up of a "one time pad" that is discarded after being used, never to be used again. In the event that the same numbers are used again, they never have the same meaning and are never connected to prior instructions having to do with the current operations at hand.

Only once have these numbers been deciphered by any government. In the recent day in days not so far in the past, the U.S. Government arrested, tried, and convicted individuals known as the Cuban Five. The Cuban Five were convicted on charges ranging from attempted murder to unlawful use of communications to commit espionage, espionage, and a whole laundry list of charges.

The Cuban Government has been using a station known as "Radio Havana Cuba" to issue statements that these five are not guilty and are political prisoners. This whole "release our people" stinks of cronyism through and through. The Cuban Five were tried fairly with the weight of the evidence resting against them. Radio Havana Cuba is and has always been known as an independent voice of the people of Cuba, but this time, it really looks like they are in cahoots with the Cuban Government only in regards to a one time political opinion, the sole effort of which is to smear the American Government.

Let's face it, we haven't always had a friendly past with Cuba. Let's face it, our government has done some really unpopular things that have managed to tick off all of us that are stateside residents. This one was a righteous case in every respect.